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ROMANA KRYZANOWSKA
The Grand Dame of Pilates, & the inspiration for PCO, PWD, & Everything Pilates
Romana Kryzanowska was a young teenage ballet dancer in NYC working with the legendary George Balanchine, she was 17, it was 1941. “I was told to see Uncle Joe, he would help me heal my knee injury.” Joseph Pilates took Romana in as a student, and her legacy was born. Twenty-six years later, when Joseph Pilates died, Romana would keep the Pilates studio running and take the next several generations under her wing, bringing Pilates's “art of Contrology” to the world. She said, “You can say what Pilates is in just a few words: stretch with strength and control. The control part is the most important, that makes you use your mind.”
In 1991, Romana created her first formal school with The Pilates Studio of New York to formally educate students in the teachings of Joseph Pilates’ authentic method of exercise. She initiated programming in New York and later brought the program to Los Angeles.
Our grand dame of the Pilates method came to Performing Arts Physical Therapy of Los Angeles (PAPT) and The Pilates Studio in West Hollywood, CA in 1992 to bring her passion to a new group of teachers, or pupils as she called everyone, on the West coast. We all learned, explored, experimented, and studied. Romana told us to
breathe “in with the air, out with the air,” lengthen, reach, lift, hold, “spear the fish”,”squeeze your buttocks, your derriere, or those hanging baskets,” and use your powerhouse! She said we would continue to learn and grow as we practiced Pilates. Our bodies would feel better, and our clients would reap the health benefits under our watch. All students apprenticed in LA under the direction of Dr. Melinda Bryan. Today, The Pilates Studio of Los Angeles and PilatesCertificationOnline continue to bring Pilates education to many teachers around the globe from our home base in West Hollywood. Beloved by the Pilates community, Romana’s teachings were paramount in the education of Pilates teachers worldwide.
The elegance of Romana’s teaching techniques, along with her delivery of the key principles of Pilates work, precision, breath, flow, centering, concentration, and control, have created her legacy and influenced our own passion for Pilates. She was a mentor and friend, a regal representative of the fitness method that was 50 years ahead of its time, and a lovely woman that shared many stories and a lot of laughter. As those that knew her well remember, her favorite toast in celebration after a long successful day of practice was, “Love All Around.” So many vivid memories of Romana teaching at PAPT, hearing her voice, seeing her smile, and making us work our bodies until we’d drop, remind us that wherever she was… there was love all around.
